After 36 years, Nilsson suddenly retired from the stage in 1982, without giving a farewell performance, remarking in her typical style: "It’s better to be retiring two years too early than two years too late!" There followed a concert tour in 1984, after which she devoted her time to promoting young talented singers. Her life continued to be dedicated to opera even after leaving the stage. Having been literally showered with honours and awards, including the honorific titles of Swedish Royal Court Singer and Austrian and Bavarian Kammersängerin, she now embarked on teaching vocal master classes in Stockholm, Hannover and New York.

One of the many anecdotes that have grown around Nilsson speaks for itself: Karl Böhm is said to have told her with effusive enthusiasm after a ‘Tristan’ performance: "Birgit, if ever you stop singing, I will stop conducting". The then Lord Mayor of Bayreuth, Hans Peter Wild, who was sitting next to her, didn’t want to be left behind. He placed his hand on her arm and said: "Mrs. Nilsson, we want to bury you here in Bayreuth!" However, this wish was not granted to Bayreuth. Birgit Nilsson died on 25 December 2005, age 87, in her Swedish homeland, where she was buried in a quiet ceremony.

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